Do you play the games you really want to play?

In general I play other peoples games more than my own. As several of my gaming friends buy lots of games i tend to be often playing something new and about 70% of the time i am interested in said new game. However recently I have played a couple of games of my own so there's minimal complaint.

I rarely get to play my longer two player wargames or longer games in general. I'd like to play Dune, War in the Pacific and The Korea War more than I do, and I'd like to break out Warrior Knights (GW) after picking it up on the cheap. Usually I do get these games played but sometimes it takes a year or so.

Erik Twice wrote:

Dr. Mabuse wrote: Yep, my group has been pretty open to at least trying if not regularly playing my games. I have a three person game of Avalon Hill's Civilization set to go this week.

Is it a good number for Civilization? I thought it was a 5+ only game. It or, rather, Age of Renaissance, is one of the games I really want to play.

I've played 4 and it worked really well, I have no idea about 3 so I'll let you know. I recently picked up The Republic of Rome nad read your great review of it. Looking forward to gettkng that done in the new year.

I wouldn't say I feel neglected, it's more that I don't want to by THAT GUY who constantly pushes something onto the group. I like the people I game with. Inviting people to my house is my way of saying, "There's a priority here, in my house, that's named The Game I Want To Play.

Mr. White wrote: Hell yes!!

Sometime last year, I began tiring of how I was 'board gaming' over recent years. Looking back on the years where I had the most fun gaming, I actually had a lot more time, but owned less games...though I explored them deeper. Granted they were mainly flavors of GW minis games, but there's a lot to do there and it was very fulfilling. Over the past decade, I found myself with less time (kids, wife, career, etc) but more games. I had the mindset that if I liked one crayon rail game, maybe I should have a few others also. Same with Columbia block games. I also wasn't immune to buying into new games as the hype train rolled in. Thankfully the speed of that train became too much thanks to kickstarter and that helped me realign myself.

So I sold off almost everything.

The only games I keep now are the ones that are getting played...and I'm playing them plenty. Let's take a look...

TITAN (own): I'm always running an ACTS game or two at a time plus I play face-to-face at least twice a year.

Blood Bowl (own): I'm running a table top league that just wrapped up its second season. Over the holiday, since we can't meetup, I put together a league online via Cynanide's game. Also, I've attended four tournaments over the past year. On evenings when our BB meeting falls through, I'll spend the time painting up some minis for future seasons or upcoming tournaments. Less focus on buying and selling games, painting has become a lot more fun again. Here's the crew I took to Nuffleween IV in Oklahoma last month. I took 4th in a field of about 20, but was awarded most brutal causing 14 casualties with only 4 against. I'm proud of the boyz.

Dreadball (own): I ran a little tourney in September that went over well and am running a mini league over the course of Jan and Feb (before the next BB season takes off). Also, I'm attending a tournament in San Antonio in early 2016. MM were selling off complete teams for like $12-14 after Thanksgiving so I picked up a few extras for folks to use over the coming year. I just finished painting up these ref-bots for the inaugural season.

Settlers/Condotierre/Citadels/LotR:Confrontation/Risk2210 (own): These are all classics I play 5-6 times a year with the Casual Players Club. Lately it's been all Condotierre as we've taken to pub crawling with this in our pocket. We'll hit three microbreweries in an evening downing a pint and a game at each. Fun times.

Manoeuvre (don't own): My BB/gaming Arch Rival kept his so I sold mine. We play campaign style and usually meet up at this cafe/game store (the horror) for a beer and a match prior to heading over to out BB matches for league night. If we don't have time to meet face to face, we'll play the round over vassal.

Crayon Rails (don't own): I've got a buddy who loves these and he owns 5-6. In fact, I was at his place last night playing Nippon Rails for the first time (fast playing, cutthroat map!). We usually hook up 2-3 times a year for one of these.

I do play a few family favorites at home, but the above scratches all of my hobby gaming itches. I haven't been this satisfied with my gaming in a long time, and don't really feel the need to buy games. Thanks, Kickstarter!

HOWEVER, the only game I'd like to add is Neuroshima Hex 3rd. I have no idea when it would get played though. The likely spot would be alternating with Manoeuvre. and I may float the idea to Arch Rival later in the year. I'm in no rush to buy a new game, but I have considered getting it soon as I fear the z-man edition with the 5th army may be going or is oop.

I used to play the game I wanted ... And then I moved! Thanks for finally getting everyone in board for the online blood bowl league. Live on cabal vision !

metalface13 wrote: Thanks for finally getting everyone in board for the online blood bowl league. Live on cabal vision !

(credit Metalface13)

I hope you plan on writing up a review or at least more detailed thoughts on the Warhammer Quest card game

Dr. Mabuse wrote: I've played 4 and it worked really well, I have no idea about 3 so I'll let you know. I recently picked up The Republic of Rome nad read your great review of it. Looking forward to gettkng that done in the new year.

Wow, you flatter me! I'm glad it was useful to you. But yeah, tell me how it goes once you play both games

I was really planning on not posting again after my 1,000th post, just to retain the nice round post number, but screw it, there are some things I can only post on this site.

So I started meeting with my main game group, off and on, in around 2006. The group sort of disbanded when we ran out of a place to play. I left the country for two years from 2013-2015. Recently someone posted that they were meeting weekly at a new local store, so I stopped by just to say hi and see how everyone was doing. There were four old-timers there, and they said hi but otherwise it was like I had never left. It is weird to think that I have known these guys for almost ten years. I've even been to some of their houses and played on occasion, and we've car pooled to local cons. Anyway, we know each other, as gamers and sort of as human beings.

We played Istanbul, and it was like every other time I play a Euro--there were one or two small rules that I misunderstood. I played a pedestrian game focused on a single strategy, and meanwhile the two other guys, programmers in their 50s, created complex engines that crushed me, while playing the game on an entirely different level. I would probably do ok the second time around, but I'm just not Euro-smart. I mean, I've taken IQ tests and have a PhD in the humanities, but I'm not game-engine smart. I would probably be able to hold my own the second time around. It was sort of fun.

At one point I mentioned that there is a group on my campus that they might enjoy, a bunch of nice, smart guys who play Euros, and one of the group said, "It sounds like you are set up there, why did you come to this group tonight?" And I replied "I just wanted to say hi to you guys!" I don't know the meaning of that exchange.

Anyway, I will stop by on occasion because they are still perfectly fine people and playing a Euro is better than playing nothing.

Maybe I should host a Heroscape day at my house or learn how to play Duel of Ages and invite some people over. I also am getting Fiasco in a secret santa swap, and that looks really fun.

Random photo of a baby that sat in front of us at my daughter's band concert:



This is where I work.

As recently as five years ago, I generally got to play the games that I wanted to play, outside of a few long and complex games that only get played on rare and special occasions. I semi-regularly hosted boardgames at my place, and most of my regulars didn't have their own boardgames, so they would play mine. Eventually, some started buying their own games, and their tastes tended to diverge from what I wanted to play. Some went the euro route, and one friend seems to have a knack for buying bad AmeriTrash games, such as The Walking Dead boardgame.

As Wadenels said, the local gaming scene skews heavily towards euros, despite the presence of FFG. Rather than just show up at random gatherings and playing a bunch of boring euros, I just cut back on playing board games and focused on rpgs until I could recruit more AT players. Actually, I have contact info for a decent number of local AT players now, but I haven't had a lot of spare time this year, and some of the other folks are likewise fairly busy. Once I wrap up my D&D game and land a better job, that will free up plenty of time to play more boardgames.

craniac wrote: At one point I mentioned that there is a group on my campus that they might enjoy, a bunch of nice, smart guys who play Euros, and one of the group said, "It sounds like you are set up there, why did you come to this group tonight?" And I replied "I just wanted to say hi to you guys!" I don't know the meaning of that exchange.

Sounds like they don't understand the concept of friendship?

Are you working at BYU now?

metalface13 wrote:

craniac wrote: At one point I mentioned that there is a group on my campus that they might enjoy, a bunch of nice, smart guys who play Euros, and one of the group said, "It sounds like you are set up there, why did you come to this group tonight?" And I replied "I just wanted to say hi to you guys!" I don't know the meaning of that exchange.

Sounds like they don't understand the concept of friendship?

Are you working at BYU now?

I could never land a job at BYU. I didn't go to the right school, and haven't published enough. I've been at UVU since 2002!

They are good guys, and they have a community that works for them, but they are not into the social chit chat component. I like and respect them, but we're just never going to be best bowling buddies. And if I'm being honest, I've probably behaved, in their eyes, like an a-hole on more than one occasion. That is the thing I have learned in my old age--that *I'm* the a-hole more often than not.

I'm turning this website into the Livejournal of a thirteen-year-old girl, and for that I apologize.

Hey, I like it. We get to know you. Just don't start posting Bieber pics or anything..


..unless he's nekkid

Dang! That's UVU? That place keeps growing like crazy.

I'm exceedingly lucky in that I have a dedicated group that is always willing to play whatever I bring to the table. Whether that be the latest review copy I've gotten or a prototype.

They certainly have preferences and request some games more than others, but if I have a game I need to play in order to review they are certainly down.

In that sense I get to play what I want pretty much all the time. Reviewing tends to take you away from those games you love though. I'd really like to play more X-Wing, Claustrophobia, Earth Reborn, etc. The saving grace is when an expansion comes out, like the new Eclipse extension, and you get to knock off the dust.

charlest wrote: I'm exceedingly lucky in that I have a dedicated group that is always willing to play whatever I bring to the table. Whether that be the latest review copy I've gotten or a prototype.

They certainly have preferences and request some games more than others, but if I have a game I need to play in order to review they are certainly down.

In that sense I get to play what I want pretty much all the time. Reviewing tends to take you away from those games you love though. I'd really like to play more X-Wing, Claustrophobia, Earth Reborn, etc. The saving grace is when an expansion comes out, like the new Eclipse extension, and you get to knock off the dust.

This is how it is for me too. In fact, I feel like I dictate what we play more often than I mean to, just because I'm more likely to be the one to pick a game while everyone else politely stands around discussing what to play. I also tend to have a lot of game nights revolving around specific games, like "We're playing Cosmic Encounter tonight. Who wants in?"